"E pluribus unum"

Ephesians 4

It's written on our money, and it means "out of many, one." The phrase affirms our nation's unity in her diversity. We find a similar emphasis with Paul in Ephesians 4. Verse 4 pounds home the idea of unity: one body , one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. It is a seven-dimensional oneness we have in Christ. Yet in that oneness is a wonderful and complementary variety of gifts from Christ Himself.

The gifts mentioned are not meant to be exhaustive. But the purpose of the giftedness is two- fold: to equip the people of God for ministry (outreach) and to build up the body of Christ (inreach). Churches seem to choose one over the other, with the great majority choosing "inreach." I have seen a few churches do outreach to the exception of inreach, but I have much more often heard people say, "We can only do outreach and we have completely cared for those we already have." The truth is that we will never fully care for each other and learning to care for those outside the walls and relationships of the Church teaches us better how to care for each other. The call here is for balance, and out of that balance the church grows in number and depth.

Take a moment to consider how God has gifted you, partly through your genetics and partly through your walk with Christ. Are you putting those gifts to work both inside and outside the church? That's God's design. You have been gifted for a purpose, for a mission.

Beginning in verse 17, Paul returns to the BC/AD discussions we have already had. Have you noticed how Paul tends to circle back and give a new angle to things he has already discussed? So it is here. We are truly called to a different way speaking and acting when we follow Christ. Our actions and our tongues are to give evidence of a changed heart and a renewed mind. That takes a partnership of the grace of God and personal discipline. We can't do it on our own, but we do have to work at it. We are to "put off" our old ways - an act of disposing of the way we used to talk, act, and think. It is intentional on our part. We "just say no" to our own selfishness and sinfulness. But we don't stop there, we say yes to something better. Jesus told the parable of the man who was cleansed of a demon but just remained empty. The demon goes and finds seven more friends and fill the void and the man was much worse off. That's why negative religion ends up leaving us cold. We must be adding the positive - the new life in Christ.

When I took a new appointment to a downtown church from a rural setting, my district superintendent said, "You are going to have to update your wardrobe." We need to do the same thing spiritually when we follow Christ. The remaining verses I covered in a recent sermon on "Grieving the Spirit." We put away lying, resident anger, stealing, and wicked conversation. We put on kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. So what have you been wearing during this past week, spiritually, that is? Paul sums it all up by inviting you and me to be "imitators of God." In my sermon, I said, "It's like jazz band. You fake it until you make it. We act Christ-like until we become Christ-like." I hear the heavenly department store is having a clothing sale...very affordable. In fact, it's almost as if the clothing is being given away. The price? An open heart, a consecrated mind, and a yield life...and the grace of a crucified, risen Savior. Thanks be to God.